Water aerator

ABSTRACT

A water aerator having a relatively thin diaphragm with square cross-section holes with a bridge arrangement over the holes on the upstream side to form either one water entrance or two water entrances to each hole. In the case of the bridge arrangement to form two water entrances, the size of one entrace to any hole may be different from that of the other entrance to permit the issuing turbulent jet of water to diverge or converge. The structure contains a casing having an annular enlargement at the downstream end which is unindented.

United States Patent [191 Aghnides 1541 WATER AERATOR [76] lnventor:Elie P. Aglmides, 795 Fifth Avenue,

New York, N.Y. 10021 221 Filed: Aug. 20, 1970 211 App1.No.: 50,948

[52] US. Cl. ..239/428.5, 239/D1G. 18 [51] Int. Cl. ..E03c 1/08 [58]Field of Search ..239/428.5, DlG. 18

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1961 Aghnides ..239/D1G.18 2,998,932 9/1961 Aghnides.... ....239/D1G. 18 3,130,917 4/1964Aghnides.... .....239/D1G. 18 3,198,440 8/1965 Aghnides ..239/428.53,298,614 1/1967 Aghnides ..239/428.5

FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,338,329 4/1962 1 France ..239/428.5

[ 51 Jan. 23, 1973 Primary Examiner-Lloyd L. King Att0rneyWilliam D.Hall, Elliott I. Pollock, Fred C. Philpitt, George Vande Sande, CharlesF. Steininger and Robert R. Priddy [57] ABSTRACT A water aerator havinga relatively thin diaphragm with square cross-section holes with abridge arrangement over the holes on the upstream side to form eitherone water entrance or two water entrances to each hole. In the case ofthe bridge arrangement to form two water entrances, the size of oneentrace to any hole may be different from that of the other entrance topermit the. issuing turbulent jet of water to diverge or converge. Thestructure contains a casing having an annular enlargement at thedownstream end which is unindented.

12 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAH 23 1973 FIG. IB.

FIG. IA.

INVENTOR Elie P. Aghnides WATER AERATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates todevices foraerating water and in particular to devices for attachment or use ondomestic, public and industrial water systems. Aeration devices are nowin wide use on the faucets of such water systems to aerate the water andotherwise improve discharge water.

2. Description of the Prior Art In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,929,dated Sept. 5, 1961 entitled Water Aerator, I disclose a diaphragmhaving a bridge on the upstream side. The diaphragm has elongatedvertical chambers through which water flows after two water jetsentering from either side impinge on each other in the chambers of thesediaphragms. The elongated chambers are constructed to be approximately2.0 mm high.

In my previous US Pat. No. 3,229,916, issued Jan. 19, 1966, entitledAerators Having Enlarged Stream Outlets, I disclosed means whereby anaerator of a given size may deliver a stream of large diameter and beeasily cleanable. The aerator disclosed in that patent contains a casinghaving an annular enlargement at the lowermost end of the inside wall ofthe casing which is indented.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION of the aerator or at an angle to said axis thanprior art.

aerators, thereby producing a considerable increase in aeration of thewater and/or controlling the direction of the jet, or both. Theinvention further provides an improvement in the aerator structure whichpermits ease I of construction and enables component parts to beseparated more easily for maintenance purposes.

To attain this, the present invention provides a diaphragm wherein theelongated chamber is eliminated and a thinpartitionhaving a thicknessinthe order of 0.5 mm butnotgreater than l.5 mm is used for across-section of thechamber of about 1 mm. The thin partition has aseries of square cross-section holes arrangedin a circle around thecenter of the disk diaphragm. A series of rectangular cross-sectionrings are arranged overthese circles of holes. The rectangularcross-section is indented over each hole to form a bridge structure over*the hole. The rings are arranged onthe upstream side of the diaphragmand may be formed to permit accessto eachhole'trom entrances on bothsides of the rings. AlternativelyJhe bridge may be formed so that eachhole has only one entrance arrangedtopermit theissuing jet of water todiverge. The bridge'arrangement having'two entrances for each hole isdesigned so that the access openings to each hole may be tilted orofunequal size to permitthe issuing turbulent jetof aerated water todiverge or converge from the center line ofithe path of flow of theaerator. Theunequal size of the holes enables the alteration :of thedirection :from' the axis of theaeratorof the issuing turbulent jet. Thecontrol of thedirection of the-issuing streamlets may be employedparticularly when the diaphragm is used to produce a divergent showerformed by a pluralityof'independent'bubbly streams of the type disclosedin my US. Pat. application Ser. No. 839,848.

The present invention further provides a screen holding means arrangedin cooperation with arms arranged transverse to the path of flow of thewater in an unindented annular enlargement of the casing. The screenholding means is preferably force fit to avoid its loss or itsmisassembly.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide aeratormeans which generate a more swollen and turbulent jet of water thanprior art aerators, thereby producing a considerable increase inaeration of the water.

Another object of the present invention is to provide aerator meanscontaining a bridge-type diaphragm which permits an issuing turbulentjet of aerated water to diverge or converge.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedaerator structure which permits ease of construction and maintenance.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention, when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view ofan aerator embodying-the concepts of the .present invention.

FIG. 1B is another cross-sectional view of another aerator embodying theconcepts of the present inven' tion.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the diaphragm used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the diaphragm used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the openings in the diaphragm taken alongline XX of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the openings in the diaphragm taken alongline YY of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the diaphragm containing pairs ofentrances having dissimilar sizes.

FIG. 7 is across-sectional view of the opening in the diaphragm wherein.one of the two water entrances to the opening has a'size which isdifferent from the other entrance.

FIG. 8 isanother cross-sectional view of the openings in the diaphragmhaving one water entrance for each opening.

FIG. 9 is .a view of the screen means used in the present invention.

FIG. .10 is a cross-sectional view of the diaphragm having an increasedthickness.

FIG. .11 is another cross-sectional view of the diaphragm having anincreased thickness.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of FIG. 11 taken along lines 12-12.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of FIG. it) taken along lines l3-13.

DESCRIPTIONOF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referringnow to FIG. 1A, there isshown across-secdotted lines 16. The aerator has a diaphragm which isabout 0.5 mm. thick. The diaphragm contains legs 1 1 which are supportedby the armed member 12 which, in turn, rests on inturned lip 13. Lip 13is formed by the lower end of the enlarged part 14 on the inner wall ofthe casing 15.

FIG. 1B shows a diaphragm 10' which is similar to diaphragm l0.Diaphragm 10 has no legs corresponding to the legs 11 of the diaphragm10 in FIG. 1A. The casing 15 in FIG. 1B is shown male threaded but maybe female threaded as shown by dotted lines 16. Casing 15' has a lip 17whereon the diaphragm 10' rests. The inner diameter of the casing 15' inFIG. 1B above and below the enlarged part is smaller than thecorresponding inner diameters of casing 15 in FIG. 1A. This arrangementin FIG. 1B permits air to enter between the inner edge of intumed lip13' and the lower outside end 18 of member 12. The press-fit screenmeans 12 is preferably movable up and down within the enlarged parts 14and 14' to facilitate cleaning or it may remain tightly at thedownstream end of said enlarged parts. The upper screen 21' may befriction fit or ultrasonicfastened. The lower screen 22 is free to moveupwards if pushed from below and falls downwards to its normal positionwhen water is emerging from the aerator.

Air enters between the arms 19 of armed member 12 and legs 11 in theoperation of the legged diaphragm shown in FIG. 1A. The screen means 21may be pressed fit on to the member 12, and defines an opening 22 in thecenter as shown in FIG. 9 to permit cleanmg.

The thin diaphragm 10-10 contain a number of concentric rings 23 arrangeon the upstream side. A top view of these rings is shown in FIG. 2. Thediaphragm further contains a number of holes 24 arranged in circlesaround the center of the diaphragm. The holes have square cross-sectionsof about 1 sq. mm. The thickness of the partition is 0.5 mm and theaccess openings are 0.8 mm high and 0.75 mm wide. A view of thedownstream side of the diaphragm showing the square cross-section holes24 arrange in circles around the center is shown in FIG. 3. Sections XXand YY of square cross-section holes 24 taken from FIG. 3 are shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. FIG. 4 shows the two entrances 25 and 26 tothe hole 24. And FIGS. 4 and 5 show the bridge arrangement over the holeformed by the concentric rings 23.

FIG. 6 shows a partial cross-section of a diaphragm l0 embodying theconcepts of the present invention having entrances 27 and 28 havingdissimilar sizes. The dissimilarity of size coupled with the properheight of chamber 30 permits a jet of water to diverge along the path29. The diaphragm of FIG. 6 shows two rows of pairs of holes arrangedserially in a circle with each pair of holes being radially aligned andabout 1 mm distant from each other. The diaphragm in such arrangementwould typically have three rows of pairs of holes with six pairs in theouter row, three pairs in the center row and three pairs in the innerrow. The holes are typically 1.14 X 1.14 mm and 1.3 mm high. Thedimensions of the 12 smaller holes are typically 0.7 X 0.7 mm and thedimensions of the twelve larger holes are 1.14 X 0.9 mm. The diameter ofthe circle of the innermost row is typically 8 mm, while that of theoutermost row is 31 mm, with the middle row half-way between the rows.

The 12 pairs of holes are so aligned that none of these falls on thesame radial line. An aerator constructed accordingly is capable ofproducing a shower of independent and divergent bubbly streams when usedin conjunction with a pair of screens having the dimensions 40 X 40 X0.0085 inch.

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section of holes 24 wherein one of the entrances tothe hole is of a size which is different from that of the oppositeentrance to the hole to obtain greater divergence and aeration. A jet ofwater enters the larger entrance 33 and moves along the water jet path36 emerging from the hole 24 as a turbulent jet. The entrance to thehole facing outwardly from the center of ring 23 may be smaller orlarger than the opposite inside entrance depending on whether theissuing turbulent jet is to converge or diverge. With a diaphragm havingsixteen holes in three widely spaced rows and suitable for use in showerheads producing independent bubbly streams, it has been found that whenentrance 32 has dimensions in the order of 1 mm. of width and 0.7 mm.height and entrance 33 has dimensions in the order of 1.25 mm. of widthand 1.2 mm. height, a divergent jet emerges from hole 24. The outsidewall of hole 24 is in the order of 1 mm. wide and the inside wall is inthe order of 1.25 mm. wide; with the height of the hole being typicallyless than 1.75 mm. and preferably about 1.1 mm. or 1.2 mm. The fourwalls of such a hole form a cross-section of trapezoidal shape, in whichthe inner and outer walls are arcuated to align with the circle in whicha row of such holes is located, the distance between said outer andinner walls being 1.25 mm.

FIG. 8 discloses an alternative embodiment of the diaphragm having onlyone entrance 34 for the hole 24. Bridge 23 is formed to enable theissuing jet of water 37 to emerge at an angle to the vertical. A diskwith sixteen widely spaced holes of 1.25 X 1.25 mm. cross-section and0.75 mm. high each, wherein each entrance was 1.25 mm. wide and 1 mm.high, gave distinctly divergent jets.

When on a disk, holes such as those of FIGS. 7 and 8 are radiallyaligned with water emerging along path 37 from an outer circular row ofholes and water emerging along path 36 from an adjacently inner circularrow of holes, said radially aligned water jet paths 37 and 36 may bemade to impinge and to thereby decrease the screen resistance requiredto further break up, mix and coalesce the water and air mixture into acoherent bubbly stream. Alternatively, the bridge formation shown inFIG. 7 or FIG. 8 above may be used to cause the emerging jet paths fromadjacent rows of holes to impinge to achieve the same result.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are other embodiments of the diaphragm similar tothe kind shown in FIG. 7. The thickness of the diaphragm in FIG. 10,however, is greater than that disclosed in FIG. 7, as shown along linesa, c, d, and as further shown in FIG. 13. The thickness of the diaphragmin FIG. 11 is greater than that disclosed in FIG. 7, as shown alonglines a, b, c, d, and as further shown in FIG. 12. The increasedthickness serves mainly as a guide to the issuing jet of water.

In the operation of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1A,air enters through the space between arms 19 and legs 11. Water entersthrough entrances 25 and 26 and passes through square cross-sectionholes 24. The inner and outer side walls of said square holes arearcuated and the other two walls may or may not be parallel. They arereferred to, for the sake of convenience, as square holes. The issuingswollen and turbulent jet of aerated water will converge or diverge fromthe center axis of the aerator depending on whether entrance 26 isgreater or smaller than entrance v 25 of holes 24.

Similarly, in the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, airenters through the opening between the inner edge of inturned lip 13 andthe lower outside end 18 of member 12. The water passes throughentrances 25 and 26 of holes 24. The issuing jet of swollen andturbulent aerated water will converge or diverge depending on whetherentrances 26 are greater or smaller than entrances 25.

The thin diaphragm 1040" with the bridge and entrance arrangement formedby the rings 23 has been found to provide greater aeration of water thanprior art diaphragms. The dissimilarity in size of the entrances to thesquare holes and the degree of thickness of the partition may beproportioned to cause the issuing turbulent jet of aerated water todiverge or converge to the desired degree. For instance, in a disk madeto deliver sixteen independent and diverse bubbly streams, eight holesin the peripheral row, four in the middle and four in the center, withcenter-tocenter distances being 30.5 mm, 21.5 mm, and 12 mm,respectively, with holes 1.16 X 1.16 mm with large access openings 1.16mm high, 1 mm wide, and with small access openings being 0.8 X 0.8 mm,the issuing jets were, at 1.75 mm thickness of the partition, onlyslightly divergent but gradually more so as said thickness wasstep-by-step decreased to 1 mm below which the jets were too much brokenup to maintain the neat identity of the bubbly streams.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. For example, the planeof the entrances to the holes may be perpendicular to the plane of theholes orinclined somewhat. ,It is, therefore, to be understood thatwithin the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described.

What 1 claim is: v 1. An aerator of the type in which an upstreamdiaphragm directs water streamlets onto a downstream mixing means in thepresence of air characterized in that the upstream diaphragmcomprises amember having a thickness in the order of 0.5 mm

said member defining a hole therein, saidhole having a cross-section inthe order of 1 mm, a bridge arranged over said hole, said bridgedefining a pair of entrance holes, the size of one of said entranceholes being different from the other entrance hole to thereby later thedirection of the issuing jet of turbulent aerated fluid, whereby thewater passing through said entranceand then throughsaid hole to saiddownstream mixing means is turbulated. 2. The device as described inclaim 1 wherein said member comprises a circular disk.

3. The device as described in claim 2 wherein said bridge is in the formof a ring arranged. on the upstream side of said diaphragm.

4. The device as described in claim 3 wherein said thin circular diskfurther contains:

a plurality of square cross-section holes arranged in a plurality ofconcentric circles around the center of said disk,

a plurality of rings equal to the number of concentric circles and eacharranged over a different one of said concentric circles,

a plurality of pairs of entrances equal in number to the number ofholes, and

whereby water passes through each of said pairs of entrances and throughsaid holes to said downstream mixing means.

5. The device as described in claim 4 wherein each of said entrances ofseveral of said plurality of pairs of entrances faces inwardly towardthe center of said rings and the other entrance of said several of saidplurality of pairs of entrances faces outwardly from the center of saidrings.

6. The device as described in claim 5 wherein the size of one entranceof a number of said plurality of pairs of entrances is different in sizefrom the other entrance in the pair of entrances of said number of saidplurality of pairs of entrances to thereby cause the issuing turbulentjet of aerated fluid to diverge or converge.

7. The device as described in claim 6 wherein the cross-sectional areaof said holes is in the order of 1 sq.

8. An aerator of the type in which an upstream diaphragm directs waterstreamlets on to a downstream mixing means in the presence of aircharacterized in that the upstream diaphragm comprises:

a member containing a hole, the height of which is less than the longesthorizontal distance across said hole,

a bridge arranged over said hole and defining a pair of entrances tosaid hole with one entrance having a size which is different from thatof the other entrance to thereby alter the direction of an issuingturbulent jet of aerated fluid,

whereby water passes through said pair of entrances and through saidhole to said downstream mixing means.

9. The device as described in claim 8 wherein said member comprises athin circular disk.

10. The device as described in claim 9 wherein said bridge is in theform of a ring arranged on the upstream side of said diaphragm and saidthin circular disk contains a plurality of square cross-section holesarranged in a plurality of concentric circles around the center of saiddisk,

a plurality of rings equal to the number of concentric circles and eachring arranged over a different one of said concentric circles,

a plurality of pairs of entrances equal in number to the number of holeswith the size of one entrance of a number of said plurality of pairs ofentrances being different in size from the other entrance in the pair ofentrances of each of said number of said plurality of pairs of entrancesto thereby cause an issuing turbulent jet of aerated fluid to diverge orconverge and be passed to a downstream mixing means.

11. An aerator of the type in which an upstream diaphragm directs waterstreamlets on to a downstream mixing means in the presence of aircharacterized in that the upstream diaphragm comprises a member having ahole, and a bridge arranged over said hole and defining a pair ofentrances to said hole, the height of said hole diaphragm means having ahole and being suffciently thin to maintain at least partly an inclineddirection of the stream of water flowing through said hole, and

bridge means over said hole to permit the entrance of being proportionalto the difference in size between said entrances to alter the directionof the issuing jet, said height being less than the longest watertherethrough, said bridge means having two entrance openings, oneopposite the other, with one of said openings being larger than theother to horizontal distance across said hole when said entrances are ofequal size. 10 12. An aerator of the type in which an upstream Idiaphragm directs water streamlets onto a downstream through Said holeat an angle to the axis of mixing means in the presence of aircharacterized in Sand d'aphragmthat the upstream diaphragm comprisesthereby overcome the impact of the stream of water which passes throughthe smaller of said openings and thereby causes the issuance of a jet @33 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,712, 548 Dated January 23, 1973 Inventor(s) ie P Aghnides It isoertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsald Letters Patent are hereby correct-ed as shown below:

Claim 1, line ll, change "later" toalter Signed and sealed this 3rd dayof July 19 73,

' (SEAL) Attest: I

EDWARD M.FLETCHER ,JR. ReneTegtmeyer Attesting Officer ActingCommissioner of Patents

1. An aerator of the type in which an upstream diaphragm directs waterstreamlets onto a downstream mixing means in the presence of aircharacterized in that the upstream diaphragm comprises a member having athickness in the order of 0.5 mm said member defining a hole therein,said hole having a cross-section in the order of 1 mm2, a bridgearranged over said hole, said bridge defining a pair of entrance holes,the size of one of said entrance holes being different from the otherentrance hole to thereby later the direction of the issuing jet ofturbulent aerated fluid, whereby the water passing through said entranceand then through said hole to said downstream mixing means isturbulated.
 2. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said membercomprises a circular disk.
 3. The device as described in claim 2 whereinsaid bridge is in the form of a ring arranged on the upstream side ofsaid diaphragm.
 4. The device as described in claim 3 wherein said thincircular disk further contains: a plurality of square cross-sectionholes arranged in a plurality of concentric circles around the center ofsaid disk, a plurality of rings equal to the number of concentriccircles and each arranged over a different one of said concentriccircles, a plurality of pairs of entrances equal in number to the numberof holes, and whereby water passes through each of said pairs ofentrances and through said holes to said downstream mixing means.
 5. Thedevice as described in claim 4 wherein each of said entrances of severalof said plurality of pairs of entrances faces inwardly toward the centerof said rings and the other entrance of said several of said pluralityof pairs of entrances faces outwardly from the center of said rings. 6.The device as described in claim 5 wherein the size of one entrance of anumber of said plurality of pairs of entrances is different in size fromthe other entrance in the pair of entrances of said number of saidplurality of pairs of entrances to thereby cause the issuing turbulentjet of aerated fluid to diverge or converge.
 7. The device as describedin claim 6 wherein the cross-sectional area of said holes is in theorder of 1 sq. mm.
 8. An aerator of the type in which an upstreamdiaphragm directs water streamlets on to a downstream mixing means inthe presence of air characterized in that the upstream diaphragmcomprises: a member containing a hole, the height of which is less thanthe longest horizontal distance across said hole, a bridge arranged oversaid hole and defining a pair of entrances to said hole with oneentrance having a size which is different from that of the otherentrance to thereby alter the direction of an issuing turbulent jet ofaerated fluid, whereby water passes through said pair of entrances andthrough said hole to said downstream mixing means.
 9. The device asdescribed in claim 8 wherein said member comprises a thin circular disk.10. The device as described in claim 9 wherein said bridge is in theform of a ring arranged on the upstream side of said diaphragm and saidthin circular disk contains a plurality of square cross-section holesarranged in a plurality of concentric circles around the center of saiddisk, a plurality Of rings equal to the number of concentric circles andeach ring arranged over a different one of said concentric circles, aplurality of pairs of entrances equal in number to the number of holeswith the size of one entrance of a number of said plurality of pairs ofentrances being different in size from the other entrance in the pair ofentrances of each of said number of said plurality of pairs of entrancesto thereby cause an issuing turbulent jet of aerated fluid to diverge orconverge and be passed to a downstream mixing means.
 11. An aerator ofthe type in which an upstream diaphragm directs water streamlets on to adownstream mixing means in the presence of air characterized in that theupstream diaphragm comprises a member having a hole, and a bridgearranged over said hole and defining a pair of entrances to said hole,the height of said hole being proportional to the difference in sizebetween said entrances to alter the direction of the issuing jet, saidheight being less than the longest horizontal distance across said holewhen said entrances are of equal size.
 12. An aerator of the type inwhich an upstream diaphragm directs water streamlets onto a downstreammixing means in the presence of air characterized in that the upstreamdiaphragm comprises diaphragm means having a hole and being sufficientlythin to maintain at least partly an inclined direction of the stream ofwater flowing through said hole, and bridge means over said hole topermit the entrance of water therethrough, said bridge means having twoentrance openings, one opposite the other, with one of said openingsbeing larger than the other to thereby overcome the impact of the streamof water which passes through the smaller of said openings and therebycauses the issuance of a jet of water through said hole at an angle tothe axis of said diaphragm.